First Nation seeks environmental assessment exemption for ski resort proposal

A proposed mountain resort near the Coquihalla Summit shouldn’t have to pass the BC government’s lengthy environmental assessment process, according to the Fraser Canyon First Nation that hopes to build the project.

Spuzzum First Nation is seeking an exemption that would allow it to expedite construction of a four-season resort and thousands of homes in the South Anderson River Valley.

The First Nation hopes to build 11 chairlifts, a golf course, a series of mountain biking trails, and thousands of homes in the valley near the Coquihalla Summit. To access the valley, the First Nation plans to build a 900-metre-long tunnel through one of the towering mountains that separate the South Anderson watershed from the Coquihalla valley, The Current reported in February.

The exemption

Last fall, the province accepted Spuzzum’s expression-of-interest for the proposed resort. It was a major step—two proposed tourism projects in the Bridal Falls area near Chilliwack—have yet to move past that stage. But it was only one of multiple hurdles Spuzzum will need to clear to turn its resort dreams into reality.

Spuzzum First Nation must now create a formal proposal while consulting with local governments, First Nations, and various environmental and recreational interest groups. But the nation hopes the proposal won’t need repeated revision in order to pass the multi-stage environmental assessment process that can often take years to complete.

An environmental assessment is one of the biggest obstacles facing any large new economic development project in BC and is mandatory for medium- and large ski resorts.

Spuzzum started the environmental assessment process this week with the beginning of a month-long engagement period to solicit comments on the project’s broad goals and ideas. But Spuzzum has applied for an exemption that would allow it to avoid the subsequent steps.

Proponents can receive exemption if the government deems a project beneficial to sustainability and reconciliation policies, and decides that environmental risks can be managed by provincial ministries. In documents submitted to the province on May 1, Spuzzum argued it should receive an exemption given the scale of previous logging in the area, and the First Nation’s current and historic knowledge of the land.

“This Indigenous knowledge, supplemented by existing and future studies for resort engineering and design and permit application submissions, provide abundant knowledge of how the resort will interact with the environmental values that remain after the industrial scale logging of the Spuzzum First Nation’s traditional territory,” the First Nation said in its Initial Project Description, a document that sets the stage for the upcoming engagement process.

Spuzzum argues that other approval processes will be sufficient to ensure that anything built complies with provincial rules and regulations.

If BC’s Chief Executive Assessment Officer agrees with the First Nation, it can recommend to BC’s environment minister that an environmental assessment certificate won’t be required.

A decision on the exemption will be made following the early engagement consultation period, and after Spuzzum processes the initial feedback and submits a document called a “detailed project description.”

The province will use that document, and the response during the engagement process, to determine whether the project will be able to skip the rest of the environmental assessment process.

Below, you can find links to provincial documents and webpages related to the South Anderson project.

• BC Government website with the latest documents and engagement information

• BC Government website about the project’s environmental assessment status

• Spuzzum First Nation’s Initial Project Description

• Spuzzum First Nation’s Engagement Plan

New information

The two documents Spuzzum submitted in early May provide more information on several facets of the proposed project. The documents—which include a lengthy formal overview of the project along with a plan for engagement activities—include more than 110 pages on the plans for the resort and feedback that has been received so far.

The Initial Project Description—a 72-page formal overview of the plans—confirms that the First Nation now hopes to build a 6.6 km-long road between the resort site and the Coquihalla’s Zopkios interchange. That road would include a 900-metre-long tunnel that would allow motorists to get from the Coquihalla Valley to the South Anderson Valley without climbing a mountain pass.

The tunnel would be among the longest road tunnels in Canada. By comparison, China Bar Tunnel, the longest Highway 1 tunnel in the Fraser Canyon, is 610 metres long. (The longest railroad tunnel runs for more than 15km through Rogers Pass, northeast of Revelstoke.)

Rock excavated from the tunnel would be crushed and used for road building later, according to the documents.

A wastewater treatment plant would be required once the resort community is built. The First Nation says it would also build a firehall, medical clinic, and rescue/ski patrol base. Sites for an elementary school, a community centre, and a daycare will be included in a subsequent resort master plan “and built when the demand warrants,” according to the documents.

Despite the scale of the proposed project, the First Nation hopes to be able to start construction within just a few years. A timeline suggests construction could start in 2028, with some operations beginning as early as the winter of 2029.

The First Nation says the project could bring the provincial government a windfall of cash. And like many resort developments, most of the money is anticipated to come not from tourists, but from real estate sales.

The document estimates that over the first decade of operations, ski activities could generate $210 million, but real estate sales could bring in close to $600 million. The First Nation says some of that money would end up in the hands of government.

Spuzzum says the resort could create up to 900 jobs that could help support local towns, including Hope and Boston Bar. In addition to running the resort itself, the First Nation would also look to operate secondary businesses, including a golf course and campground.

Although Spuzzum is hoping to avoid the environmental assessment process, the document acknowledges that to proceed, the resort will require geotechnical studies, wildlife permits, economic analyses, and a large-scale archeology impact assessment. Those permits and other authorizations would be required to comply with a whole range of laws that govern how Crown land is used.

Rallying support

The First Nation still has some work to do to convince some of its neighbours to support the resort project.

In its official Engagement Plan, Spuzzum notes that other First Nations in the area “have mixed views of the project and are interested in continued engagement.”

Although Boston Bar First Nation and Yale First Nation have indicated their preliminary support, the Merritt-area Nooaitch Indian Band, along with the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council (NNTC), have both indicated their opposition.

The tribal council represents five Nlaka’pamux first nations—but not Spuzzum First Nation, which is a Nlaka’pamux nation, but not a part of the tribal council organization. The NNTC voiced concern over the access route and potential concerns over the project’s impact on habitat for the endangered spotted owl. Spuzzum’s document suggests the concerns are based on a misunderstanding of the resort’s proposed location. (The document says the decision to make the primary access route from Highway 5, rather than Highway 1, was intended to avoid low-lying spotted owl territory to the valley’s west.)

But the IPD also rejects the idea that the tribal council should have a say over the project’s future.

“Spuzzum First Nation does not acknowledge NNTC jurisdiction within Spuzzum traditional territory,” the document says.

The First Nation plans to hold wo engagement sessions in mid-June. An online virtual information session for the public will be held June 12 from noon to 1:30pm. The public can register here. An open house will be held June 16 from 4:30 to 8 pm the Hope Recreation Centre’s conference centre.